A method of making a waveguide illumination system. More specifically, in a specific embodiment, an optically transmissive sheet having a light coupling area located at or near its light input edge and a two-dimensional light extraction area located on at least one of the first and second broad-area surfaces and at a distance from the first edge is provided. An LED strip having a strip of heat-conducting printed circuit and a linear array of electrically interconnected side-emitting LED packages is further provided. The LED strip is aligned parallel to the light input edge and positioning at or near the light input edge such that a major surface of the heat-conducting printed circuit extends generally parallel to the optically transmissive sheet and at least a substantial portion of the major surface is disposed in a space between the light input edge and an opposite edge of the optically transmissive sheet.

A lighting device capable of changing light direction includes: a light guide plate having a first side surface extending in a first direction; and LEDs at the first side surface, in which the light guide plate has a first area extending in a second direction which is a direction perpendicular to the first direction and a second area extending in the second direction and adjacent to the first area, corresponding to the first area, at least one LED is arranged at the first side surface, corresponding to the second area, at least one LED is arranged at the first side surface, a first prism array is formed under a bottom surface of the first area, and a second prism array is formed under a bottom surface of the second area, and a prism height of the second prism array is taller than a prism height of the first prism array.

The present invention relates to a light-guiding assembly having a first light-guiding element, which is allocated to a first light source and used to receive and guide light from the first light source, and is provided with a first light incidence portion, a first light exit portion, and a first intermediate optical portion that is arranged between them. A second light-guiding element, which is allocated to a second light source and used to receive and guide light from the second light source, and is provided with a second light incidence portion, a second light exit portion, and a second intermediate optical portion that is arranged between them. Wherein the first light exit portion faces the second intermediate optical portion, and light leaving the first light exit portion can pass through the second intermediate optical portion and exit from the second light exit portion.

An imaging apparatus for conveying a virtual image superimposed within a view of an ambient environment has a waveguide having first and second surfaces. An in-coupling diffractive optic on one of the planar surfaces is disposed to direct image-bearing light beams into the waveguide. An out-coupling diffractive optic on one of the planar surfaces of the waveguide is disposed to direct the image-bearing light beams from the waveguide toward a viewer eyebox. An outer cover protects as least part of the waveguide from undesirable environmental influences of an ambient environment while supporting views of the ambient environment from the eyebox. A circular polarizer interposed between waveguide and the outer cover blocks the return of stray light into the waveguide.

According to one embodiment, an electronic device includes a liquid crystal panel, an illumination device, and a light reflecting material. The illumination device includes a first light guide having an opening, a first light source configured to irradiate the first light guide with light, a second light guide formed in the opening, and a second light source configured to irradiate the second light guide with light. The light reflecting material is located between the first light guide and the second light guide in the opening.

A multilayer static multiview display and method of multilayer multiview display operation provide a plurality of multiview images using diffractive scattering of light from guided light beams having different radial directions. The static multiview display includes a first multiview display layer configured to emit directional light beams representing a first multiview image by diffractive scattering light from a radial pattern of guided light beams within the first multiview display layer. The static multiview display further includes a second multiview display layer configured to emit directional light beams representing a second static multiview image by diffractive scattering light from a radial pattern of guided light beams within the second multiview display layer. The provided plurality of multiview images may include a composite color multiview image, a static multiview image, or an animated or quasi-static multiview image.

According to one embodiment, a display device includes a first transparent substrate including a first main surface, a second transparent substrate including a first end portion, a liquid crystal layer containing strip-shaped polymers and liquid crystal molecules, a third transparent substrate including a second end portion and a second main surface, a first light-emitting element and a first light guide. The first light guide includes a first surface and a second surface. A height from the first main surface to the second surface is less than a height from the first main surface to the second main surface.

A pupil replication waveguide for a projector display includes a slab of transparent material for propagating display light in the slab via total internal reflection. A diffraction grating is supported by the slab. The diffraction grating includes a plurality of tapered slanted fringes in a substrate for out-coupling the display light from the slab by diffraction into a blazed diffraction order. A greater portion of the display light is out-coupled into the blazed diffraction order, and a smaller portion of the display light is out-coupled into a non-blazed diffraction order. The tapered fringes result in the duty cycle of the diffraction grating varying along the thickness direction of the diffraction grating, to facilitate suppressing the portion of the display light out-coupled into the non-blazed diffraction order.

An optical device comprises a waveguide plate, which in turn comprises: an in-coupling element to form first guided light and second guided light by diffracting input light, first expander element to form third guided light by diffracting the first guided light, second expander element to form fourth guided light by diffracting the second guided light, and an out-coupling element to form first output light by diffracting the third guided light, and to form second output light by diffracting the fourth guided light, wherein the out-coupling element is arranged to form combined output light by combining the first output light with the second output light, wherein the in-coupling element has a first grating period for forming the first guided light, and wherein the in-coupling element has a second different grating period for forming the second guided light.

There are provided a method for manufacturing a light emitting device and a method for manufacturing a light guide plate, with which a light emitting device that is inexpensive and affords excellent space efficiency, despite having a plurality of light emitting surfaces with different angles, can be manufactured in a small number of steps and with stable quality. With this light emitting device, the end surface of one of the end portions that are butted together in a plurality of light guide plates is formed into an inclined surface having a reflection function for changing the angle at which the light is guided so that the light will be incident on the adjacent light guide plate. The light guide plate having the inclined surface with a reflection function is manufactured by cutting so as to obtain an inclined surface having a specific inclination angle when cutting out from a mother plate provided with a prism by nanoimprinting and to both sides of which are affixed laminates, after which the laminates on both sides are used as masks to form a reflective film on the end surface that was cut to an inclination angle.